1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a edge seals for cover panels for motor vehicle sunroofs and a cover panel with such a seal mounted around a circumferential edge of the panel for use in sealing the periphery of the cover panel relative to the edge of the fixed roof structure defining an opening in a vehicle body within which the cover panel is received.
2. Description of Related Art
Sunroofs in vehicles are well known and typically include a movable panel that is received in an opening that is formed in the fixed roof structure of the vehicle body. The movable panel typically is formed of a pane of glass or a steel plate that is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to open or close the opening and/or may be raisable at a rear edge. This cover panel of such a sunroof also has an edge seal member for preventing rainwater from entering into the vehicle by the seal member being in contact with an inner circumferential edge of the edge of the fixed roof structure defining the roof opening. To suppress wind noise in the closed position, it is desirable to use a so-called flush surface structure in which the upper surface of the seal member, the upper surface of the movable cover panel, and the upper surface of the fixed roof structure of the vehicle body are flush and continuous with one another.
Published U.S. Patent Application 2003/0107244 discloses the panel seal structure 3 shown in FIG. 1 of this application having an edge seal member 12 mounted around the outer circumferential edge of a glass pane forming the panel body 5 of a cover panel for covering an opening formed in a vehicle body. The panel body 5 is supported by glass holder 4 that a rising edge 17 formed on its outer circumferential edge. The seal member has connecting portion 19 has a groove 18 for mounting of the seal member on the edge 17 of the glass holder 4.
The edge seal member 12 has an upper face set to be substantially flush with an upper face of the panel body 5, and a lip 20 for contacting an edge of the panel body 5 is formed extending horizontally from the upper face of the seal. The free edge portion of the lip 20 is deformed downward upon contact with the edge of the panel body 5. With this panel seal structure, downward deformation of the edge of the lip 20 serves to absorb any dimensional error of the panel body, and enhances the continuity between the upper face of the seal structure 3 and the upper face of the panel body 5.
The edge seal member 12 also has a contact portion 13 that is made of a soft material configured in a hollow shape so as to be relatively easily collapsible and which, in use, seals against the inner circumferential edge of the edge of the fixed roof structure defining the roof opening in the closed position of the cover panel. Additionally, the edge seal member 12 has a glass panel connecting portion 14 that is made of a hard/rigid material and is formed with a shelf portion 15 and a camber absorption lip 16. The shelf portion 15 makes contact with a lower face of the glass panel 5, and the camber absorption lip 16 is intended to follow the curvature of the glass holder 4 by resiliently contacting its upper face. The glass panel body 5 is fixed on the glass holder 4 by an adhesive that fills the gap G (shown in FIG. 1) between the glass pane and the glass holder 4.
However, in practice, it has been found that this prior art roof suffers from two significant deficiencies. Firstly, the lip 20 has a tendency to allow water to leak past it. Water that leaks past the lip 20 is able to flow along the channel created by the space between the lip 20 and the connecting portion 14, and ultimately can find its way into the vehicle interior.
Secondly, when affixing the glass panel body 5 onto the glass holder 4, frequently the adhesive is able to get between shelf portion 15 of the seal member 12 and the underside of the glass panel body 5. This results in the glass panel body 5 becoming offset so as to both affect the appearance of the roof and lead to increase wind noise.